Tourists have complained of long delays to get into Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park after staff on the gates began photographing visitors using multi-day passes.

Queues of up to 45 minutes were reported after Disney staff began taking guests' pictures in a move to crack down on those abusing the ticket system.

Visitor Bob Shoberg, who visited the theme park from his home in San Jose with his family, said: 'They delayed literally thousands of people in line to do this process.'

The American attraction has long battled touts who buy multi-day passes and then loan them to visitors a day at a time, making a profit.

Businesses in Anaheim buy three-day 'park hopper' passes for $205 (£128) and then rent them to visitors for $85 (£53) a day.

This enables them to make a profit of $50, and the visitors save $40 on the price of a $125 (£78) daily ticket.

Although the practice is not against local laws, sharing the three day tickets is against Disney policy, according to the LA Times.

Now park staff photograph guests when they use a park-hopper pass for the first time. When the pass is used subsequently, the guest is compared to the original photo, and if they don't match, the person at the turnstile will not be allowed in.

A spokesman for Disneyland denied that there were significant delays, and told the LA Times that the new photographing practice involved 'a very small percentage of guests'.

Meanwhile, scientists working for Disney have developed a new electronic wristband for park guests that will allow them to get in, pay for meals, and even open their resort hotel room door.

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Officals who are currently trialling the MagicBand hope it will eliminate the need for cash, tickets and keys.

It will also be used to help Disney monitor how many visitors are in its parks, and which rides are busiest at any time. This will enable them to move extra staff or stock to the places that need it most.

Disney filed an application for the MagicBand at the Federal Communications Commission last October, according tocfnews13.com; and hopes to launch the wristband later this year.

Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955, and was the only theme park to be designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney.

Since then around 600m guests have visited it, giving it the largest cumulative attendance of any theme park in the world.

Star attractions: Mickey and Minnie Mouse wave at children during a parade along Main Street in Disneyland, California